Carpe Diem Sieze the Day
by ArcherofDarkness and Callie
Summary: A rewrite of TP, but with the added character of Xyra Robethian, the new Midshipman, who seeks to return to Treasure planet for her own reasons
1. Enter Xyra

TITLE: Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)

AUTHOR: ArcherofDarkness

SUMMARY: **Another rewrite of the original TP story, but with a new added character, Xyra Robethian, who also has a reason for returning to Treasure Planet. **

RATING: PG-13

WHY: language, violence, and cuz I want it to be!

DISCLAIMERS: I own Xyra

PS: Xyra is named after one of my good French buddies, the name is pronounced Zy-ruh.

**PARAGRAPHS IN BOLD ARE DREAM SEQUENCES**

_PARAGRAPHS IN ITALLICS ARE THOUGHTS _

PARAGRAPHS THAT ARE UNDERLINED ARE WRITTEN WORDS

* * *

_MONTH- 8th of Nymphian months DAY- 3rd of 1st Nymphian week YEAR- 2514_

_It always seemed funny to me, carrying out my life, if you could call it that, in such the manner that I did. Sometimes it dragged on, sometimes the years would flash by me like a bright firework, and I would leap through years and years and years like some graceful ice dancer who weaves patterns on the ice. When life seemed pointless however…ahi! I think the only thing that kept me going then was the faint hope that I might get home._

_So here today, I signed up for this mission into distant space. My only wish is that this does not turn into another wild goose chase; I've already been on enough. My body is tired and although it seems pointless, I still have to give this yet another shot. I have no choice._

-Excerpt from diary-

* * *

I slowly read the diary entry and went over every single word to try to see if I had left myself some kind of hint in the old writings. The careful interpretation led me nowhere however, so I closed the diary and locked it before throwing it into my bag. Around my belt I fastened the deadly weapon I had invented and gotten made by a blacksmith; I capped the points of my javelin, so turning it into a mere walking stick.

After cracking my neck a few times, I stood up and slung my bag over my shoulders, felt the heavy thump of books and then marched out of the inn and down to the bar. The cook glared at me so I tossed him a Nekt, I'm glad I at least had enough to pay him.

As the wooden door swung open, the bright light caught me off guard and I squinted at the bright central star of this solar system. Slowly the road took my dry boots up to the docks so that I could marvel at the magnificence of the ships, and then a notice caught my eye.

WANTED 

Strong crewmen for the _R.L.S. Legacy_,

Exploration Expedition

Paying price of thirteen Kricts

Led by the famous Captain Amelia

The ship may be seen at dock 74 A

I grabbed the flier and smiled, at least there was some job that needed doing, and I was getting bored of staying in this dull port. I took off at a brisk walk towards the A docks, practically whistling with joy.

As I arrived at the dock, my heart started to pump; the ship was beautiful! I raced up the gangway and smiled as I looked up and down the three giant masts. The decks were morbidly empty, but my thoughts were ruptured by a heavy voice.

"May I help you?"

The words made me spin to face the speaker, a tall Regolithian man. His stony glare nearly made me turn cringe, but first impressions always decide how the entire journey will turn out.

"Yes," I answered confidently, "I'd like to sign up for the voyage sir. I have recommendations if you would like to see them?"

He nodded; I dropped my bag and pulled out a thick folder. I handed it over, but he didn't open it. My right eyebrow slowly rose, and the Regolithian finally sighed and walked off, making it clear that I was to stay behind. Not much later, he returned with the Captain, a Felius. She took the folder and flipped through the files before snapping it shut and handing it back to me.

"I see no reason why not to hire you; however, I do not allow weapons on my ship."

I nodded, "I'd be very glad to hand over my blade Captain." I unhooked the sheath and presented it to her. She took it and nodded.

"Welcome aboard Miss…how do you pronounce it"

"Xyra. Xyra Robethian, Ma'am."

"Very good now! I am Captain Amelia, and this is my first mate Mr. Arrow, he will get you started on your duties, but I must go plot all this out in the Log."

As she passed, I touched my hand to my silver and green bandana, then Arrow looked doubtfully at me. "Seeing that you are the first member of our crew, I will get you started cleaning out the hold."

He told me how to find the brooms and scrub brushes, water and buckets and soap as well. I scrubbed until my arms ached then, single handedly loaded on the very first of the cargo. Most of it was food supplies, but there were some animals. I led the heavy treatle (something like a cow), gratil (something like a goat), and durf (Animal that resembles a shaggy rhinoceros and makes milk) aboard and carried on a couple cages of pockies (chicken like creatures).

Gradually, the sun rose to its zenith, and my stomach began to grumble; I took a few quick bites of energy bar from my bag and continued to load and clean. When the sun began to set, there still was no crew except me.

When the first stars began to show, Arrow showed me the quarters where the crew and I would sleep; then, when my hunger reached its pinnacle, Arrow brought down a load of foodstuffs and told me to make three dinners.

Let me tell you, it was hard to cook! What with me being so hungry, but eventually I whipped up a meal of grilled vegetables and roots and a few fillets of hures, a scaled water-dwelling creature. I presented the Captain and her first mate with the meals formally but ate mine privately in the galley. Afterwards, I fed the animals and cleaned up the dirty dishes. Bedtime was early since I figured there would be a lot of work in the morning.

* * *

**Figure skaters danced around a Christmas tree made of millions of tiny glass shards, fish leapt over rainbows, and there was an opera voice singing high in French. It kept repeating "Go for the gold, Shoot for the stars."**

* * *

When I woke, there was no light, but there was no chance of me getting back to sleep, so I stretched, found an open barrel of water, washed my face and went to the bathroom before having another energy bar and going out to the deck to watch the sunrise over the enormous Montressor. The thing that always had thrown me off on different planets was the number of moons.

Here there were three: Lepta, Andromeda, and Wrath. It was interesting watching them all. Wrath was a deep black color, it rose with the sun and so could only be seen during the day; Andromeda appeared a reddish color from the iron oxide on the surface and was the largest. Finally, Lepta, the smallest with a plain white coloration that was nearly out of sight behind the large planet.

I climbed up the bowsprit to get a better look; the atmosphere of Montressor had changed into a pinky-purple. I sighed and thought of home. How long had it been since I had seen it? Too long, that was for sure.

There was a creak of a cabin door so I dashed down the bowsprit and landed on my boots lightly. The captain looked refreshed and nodded to me.

"Good morning Miss Robethian."

"Good morning Captain, looks to be a beautiful day!"

She nodded, "I only hope that we can hurry with this mission, there is likely to be a solar storm in about two revolutions of Andromeda."

Two days, not much time to assemble an entire crew. 

"Luckily for us Miss Robethian, a crew has already been hired by an amateur; the sponsor of the mission."

"When are they supposed to arrive Captain?"

"This afternoon. Now Miss Robethian, as I glanced over your papers, I noticed that some of them were implying that you were about to graduate from a midshipman to a third lieutenant…"

I shook my head, "Yes Ma'am, but I prefer to work with the sheets and masts. Couldn't stand to walk around and watch people all day."

Amelia stared at me, "Was that an insult?"

I laughed, "Not at all Ma'am. I'm just one of those free-falling sort that prefer to keep a low profile."

She looked at me and I quickly noticed a quick wit beneath the hardened outside.

"Well, seeing that you are now assigned to me and that the navy is in desperate need of good officers, I _forcefully_ promote you to the rank of midshipman, or woman; that means you will get separate quarters -all as well, the rest of the crew is male- a prim uniform, and a few privileges."

I sighed, it wasn't what I wanted, but this meant that after this mission, I would be able to go to lieutenant school on Toulouse.

"Where do I start?"

Amelia smiled, "We have to get you fitted and acting your part before the rest of the crew gets here, now!"

First, I had to move all of my things to a separate compartment next to the galley, then, the captain gave me a Krict and sent me to an outfitter to get five uniforms, six undershirts, six pairs of breeches, seven pairs of socks, a new pair of boots, an overcoat, and a midshipman's hat. Amazing what you can buy with a single Krict!

Back at the ship, I put on my new uniform and was given the chore of inspecting the crow's nest. It was probably the captain's idea of being helpful, since she _had_ forced me to this rank. The reason that I had refused was that, in most cases, officers were despised, if not hated.

As I climbed up the rope ladder, my mind quickly blew free with the breeze seasoned by the winds of space. At the top of the main mast, the crow's nest stood; above the nest were three platinum hooks for flying a flag. The bottom of the nest was a loose knothole; when I pulled on it, it came out and inscribed on the side was the writing: Under the galley knife-holder.

I dashed back down the ladder and immediately reported my find; Amelia insisted to assist me in recovering whatever the object was. We walked down to the galley and found a hooked board nailed to the wall; underneath it was a loose plank with another knothole that came up partially and then could be used as a handle.

As I pulled open the floorboard, I wondered what could have been left by someone else and if it was still here. My questions were answered when I spotted something silvery and red in the small gap between this floor and the next. Carefully I pulled it up; it was a solar surfer.

I blew the dust off, and Amelia looked at me.

"Do you want to keep it Ms. Robethian? I have no use for it and the previous owners probably forgot about it."

"I'd love to Captain! Thank you!"

Amelia smiled and then strutted back to the deck. _She's a great woman; wish I could be as confident as her!_

Carefully I examined the board; there were two footholds that you could strap yourself into and a single thick mast that was about two and a half metres high. The solar sail was torn but could be easily patched up with some extra sails I could get in town before we left. Along the mast were several buttons with labels written in Harbit, official language of Haryib; my old board was way out of date, and this one, though old, was a good, trustworthy model with amazing speed.

I quickly stored it in my quarters and went back on deck; Amelia was crawling up the masts and along the arms like a squirrel. Suddenly she landed lightly next to me.

"The crew has finally arrived," she said with impatience. "It took them long enough."

I glanced dubiously at her and she shook her head; I grinned and saw a large group of sailors moving towards us. My mind grew doubtful, I'd seen my fair share of navy and pirate crews; however, this group reminded me of neither. The leader of the pack was a red-coloured scorpion, but there was also a cyborg, a flatulan, and an octiopt.

Immediately Mr. Arrow appeared out of nowhere with a list of the crew that been delivered the previous night. He read off the names of the basic crew and led them off to their assigned jobs but not before handing the list to the Captain.

"John Silver, Cook."

The cyborg stepped forward, "Aye Cap'n."

Amelia nodded, "Miss Robethian will show you to the galley Mr. Silver."

I raised my chin a bit, "This way Mr. Silver." In a way, it felt good to be above others and make them listen to me and have them not be able to retort. As I walked down the stairwell, I could hear the clunk of his metal leg and the whirr of his gears, but this didn't scare me. I'd worked around cyborgs all of my life.

When we arrived in the galley, Silver looked around and I made to leave, but he called me back.

"Ms. Robethian, seeing that dinner 'll take a while to prepare, I'd be wantin' to start soon as possible."

I nodded, "I'll inform the captain immediately and get your utensils and ingredients here as soon as possible."

"Thankee Miss."

I gave him a brisk nod and quickly left, keeping my chin up high as I walked back to the deck, where all of the crew had been dispersed to their jobs. I walked up to the captain and cleared my throat.

"Mr. Silver has requested the items that are necessary to make the afternoon and evening meals, Ma'am." I said confidently.

"Is that so? Well, the potatoes are in the second hold, the knives and cutlery are in the storage above the burners, and the hardtack is in the giant barrels of the second cupboard."

"Aye." I quickly left to tell Silver my information, but was called back by the captain.

"Miss Robethian," she called me close to her and whispered in my ear, "I don't quite trust this crew, and I would like it very much if you could keep an eye on Mr. Silver today. Get him to trust you, and also recommend potatoes au gratin, it's one of my favorite dishes."

I grinned, "I'd be glad to do it Captain." I touched my hat and caught myself before I began to skip, instead strutting back to the galley.

When I walked into the galley, Silver had discovered the knives, but I quickly pointed him out to the direction of the rest of the food. The scorpion alien rolled in a barrel of purps and quickly left, leaving Silver and myself alone to bond.

"The Captain likes Potatoes Au Gratin," I mused, grabbing a hammer that had been mixed up with the knives and prying open the purp barrel.

"Izzat so? Well, mayhap she'll get her favorite dish ta'nite."

As I picked out a ripe purp, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Silver was studying me, his cyborg eye shining in mine.

"Look Silver, I don't like being a midshipman, the captain pretty much forced me to do this, but I am not daft. If you want to scan me, ask first please." I shook my head and stuck my purp in a pocket. "The name is Robethian, Xyra Robethian."

"Silver, Long John Silver."

I grinned, "Great, all we need now is a massive treasure and we'll have Treasure Island all over again!" Silver didn't get it, of course how could he? In fact he looked a little suspicious, so I shook my head, "Don't you need milk?"

Silver smiled, a golden-toothed smile that kinda freaked me out, "Mind milking ma'am?"

I popped my purp in my mouth and went to retrieve a bucket.

That night, I examined all of the things I would need for my solar surfer. First of all, a special kind of insulated needle, conductive thread, and some spare webs, the special honeycombed solar sails made especially for surfboards.

* * *

**There was ice, a plain of ice and sleet was falling from the sky, in the distance, classical music was playing, it was one of my favorite pieces but I couldn't figure out the song. Next I saw a small golden box; as the lid opened by some invisible force…**

* * *

I woke up; shaking off the last traces of the dream and yet knowing that the piece I had heard would be stuck in my head the entire day. I groaned and pulled out my bag, from that came a sketchbook with drawings on the inside pages; I picked up the pencil attached by a string to the loops that held the pages together and began to draw. It was nothing fancy, just another little sketch of one of the things I had seen on my long journey.

I finally put it away and pulled on my coat, new boots, old belt, brushed my hair, and placed my hat on my head. My feet carried me to the deck and to the tip of the bowsprit; the winds changed direction for a minute and I could distinctly smell the scent of the Etherium. My heart beat faster with the memories coming with the smell.

With the rising sun, my dreams rose as well; my soul felt free and as the star seemed to rise from behind the planet Montressor, so did my heart. Of course, there was still a long ways to go until I might be able to reach home and let my soul roam free.

The crew began to rise from their beds, and Amelia was soon up and about as well. I brushed my hair with my fingers and retrieved my hat and coat before talking to her.

"Beautiful day Cap'n," I sighed.

"That it is." She took a couple deep breaths and then turned to me, "We are going to launch today, but there are also going to be two more passengers: the cabin boy and the financier of the voyage. Also, if you would like to make a last shopping trip, you could do it on the way to pick them up."

I raised an eyebrow, "Don't tell me, I'm going to have to baby-sit the cabin boy the whole trip, right?"

"No, nothing of the sort,but both of them are landlubbers and I think it would take them about an hour to get from the intergalactic bus stop to the ship."

I laughed, that walk would usually take me five minutes, "When do I leave?"

She looked at her watch, "Dr. Dopplar said at Seven fifty-four, five minutes."

I grinned and touched my hat before running back to my quarters to prepare for my departure. Quickly I oiled my boots and straightened my uniform, combed my hair and tucked in my shirt before grabbing a couple nekts and flying up the stairs, taking a few crewmen by surprise.

My feet carried me down the gangplank and up to the intergalactic bus stop in a short bit of time, I could see the bus was still about four minutes away. I looked around and was surprised to see a solar surfer shop; shrugging my shoulders, I walked in.

Without asking around, I walked to the checkout and demanded my items, paid and walked out briskly; there is no need for courtesy when you don't plan on returning. The galactic bus was pulling up and I looked over the people who got out. Queen of some planet, tall guy with a funny nose, weird boy sticking close to a guy in an astronaut suit…landlubbers.

I stepped out and caught the astronaut guy by the shoulder.

"Are you doctor Dopplar?"

He smiled really strangely and nodded, I rolled my eyes and gestured. "You guys had better follow me, captain's orders."

The boy looked at me with the kind of look that said, 'Hey, you're not the boss of me.' I just shook my head; these guys did not know the order of life on a ship. Surprisingly, they both followed me, and we got to the ship in no time.

* * *

Well...the 1st chapter's gonna be a little longer than the rest, so please review, constructive critisism and anything else will be loved! 


	2. Sword of the Lioness

TITLE: Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)

AUTHOR: ArcherofDarkness

SUMMARY:

RATING: PG-13

WHY: language, violence, and cuz I want it to be!

DISCLAIMERS: I own Xyra **(Zy-ruh)**

As soon as the landlubbers' feet had touched the deck, I took my bag of solar surfer supplies below to my cabin to deposit them; soon afterwards, I was back at the surface to wait for the launch. The captain and Arrow weren't in sight and the crew had stopped working, I rolled my eyes.

"BACK TO WORK YA SCURVY DOGS!" While most just muttered a curse and saluted before returning to work, I noticed that the scorpion was seizing me up in his golden eyes. He noticed me glaring and then gave me a poisoned grin and bowed deeply before climbing up the mast on his six legs.

Despite the weather, a shiver ran up my spine; my hair was standing on its end. The captain had good reason to be suspicious. Making a mental note, I watched the progress of the crew; _they were not to be trusted_.

As soon as the last crate had been stowed away, the captain and the two landlubbers emerged from the Great Cabin and Arrow walked over to me.

"Please take Mr. Hawkins and Dr. Dopplar below to meet the cook, Hawkins will be working as cabin boy, captain's orders."

I touched my hat, "Aye sir. Mr. Hawkins? Dr. Dopplar? Please follow me for the present."

The teen stuck his hands in his pockets and the guy in the spacesuit shook his hands out, but both followed me down to the galley.

"Mr. Silver? I'd like you to meet Mr. Hawkins and Dr. Dopplar, who financed the voyage."

Silver looked over and continued to chop the vegetables and strange looking squid-things. He mixed them all up into a stew and handed the boy and the doctor each a bowl with a spoon.

"Have a taste of me famous Bonzabeast stew!"

The doctor lapped at his while the boy stirred it around in disgust. Silver nudged the lad and coaxed him to try a bite, but the spoon got it first. I hid my grin as Hawkins was introduced to Morph; I'd met it the day before and quickly befriended it.

"Hawkins will be taking the role of cabin boy, in your charge."

Silver, who was tasting a bit of seasoned broth, suddenly choked, "What!"

"Captain's orders," I said forcefully, "See if you can't get this landlubber in shape, eh?"

He cast me a sideways grin, "Course miss, now, what's yer first name lad?"

The boy shuffled and spat out, "Jim."

"Well then Jimbo, I'm sure that we'll get along just fine!"

I smirked, that kid was going to learn a little respect. "Would you like to watch the launch Doctor?"

"Would I! Does an active galactic nucleus have superluminal jets!"

I stared…it's true, but what kind of mentally stable and socially structured person would say such a stupid thing! I sighed and walked back up to the deck, followed closely by the slow clunk of the socially retarded doctor.

I took my position at the quarterdeck along with the first mate and captain; the crew scrambled to their places along the yardarms.

"Free the sails, would you Mr. Arrow?" the captain said nimbly.

"RELEASE ALL SOLAR SAILS!"

As the crew went about with its work and Arrow continued to shout out directions, the landlubber cabin boy was running around, getting in the way. As the ship rose up, the gravity of the spaceport didn't reach us anymore, so the artificial gravity was quickly turned on. I was glad to notice that the cabin boy didn't fall on his face like the doctor.

Finally Arrow shouted down to the power control room to get under way; the captain turned to the doctor.

"Brace yourself."

He just mocked her and stuck his abnormally large nose in the air. As the ship geared up, I realized something; the doctor was in front of me.

_Oh, shit. _

But before I could do anything, the ship had blasted off and I was flattened by the stupid blunder of a doctor.

Glaring, I picked my way out of the mess of metal, my back aching from the impact; the doctor barely noticed me though and knocked me down again as I struggled to free my foot from his space suit.

My head was spinning as we quickly got out of reach of Montressor's star, there was a pod of Whales…or _Orcus Galacticus_ if you want to get fancy. It was rather humorous when one of the whales decided to get rid of some…er, waste products by squirting them on the doctor.

The captain laughed too.

With most of the crew out of the ratlines, I scurried up to get a good look of where we were going. The captain had told the Bo' sun that we were headed to the coordinates 5120 x 874 x 90008.

Silver emerged from below deck and began to talk to the captain; I couldn't make out what he said, but obviously the captain didn't like it and said something rather sharp. Soon afterwards, the Hawkins boy was mopping the deck, Morph keeping a close eye on him.

* * *

After a couple hours, the fog of the nebula we passed through, the Odysseus Nebula, began to set along the deck. I swung my legs out from one of the yardarms and surveyed the scene below. One four-armed crewmember knocked into Hawkins, clearly meaning to be intimidating, and it worked. Soon though, the cabin boy noticed a little more was going on in the fog.

There were four of the crew talking in whispers as the Hawkins boy swept by.

One of the crew was perched on another, it's really pretty strange actually because one looks like a head and the other, a body. The cabin boy must've thought that it was just three and been surprised, because he kept staring even after they warned him off.

Then came the scorpion.

I swear, he appeared out of nowhere!

He crept down the mizzen and hissed at Hawkins for a second, but obviously the boy didn't know how to reply and was soon pinned up against the mast by a claw.

Well, that got me moving. I slid down the main mast and got to the scene just in time to hear Jim say: "Too bad my nose works just fine!"

God, that kid was no smarter than a Durf!

The scorpion whisked a claw across the boy's face, I saw blood and then I acted. With one swift sweep of my foot, I knocked Bright Eyes' feet out from under him and glowered.

"Sailor! What is your name!"

"Scroop."

"Scroop, Ma'am," I hissed, "And while you are on the ship of the Admiral's Navy, you _will not_ pick a fight with any other person! Am I quite understood sailor?"

He glared.

"Am I understood?"

There was a clunk as Silver came up on deck, he gave Scroop a look and the scorpion quickly became less menacing. Arrow also appeared on deck.

"Yes Ma'am."

I sighed and went to the Great Cabin to speak with the Captain.

Knocking on the door, I heard a "Come in!"

I opened the door with a squeak, "Captain?"

Amelia put down a globe of the so-far-explored universe, "Ah! Miss Robethian! What may I do for you?"

I swallowed, "It's the crew ma'am, they are disrespectful. I don't trust them in the least."

She grinned, "Well, disrespect is hardly a reason to suspect mutiny. I'm going to need some proof."

"Scroop, the scorpion, he drew blood on the Hawkins Boy, not to mention, they whisper at every time that someone isn't standing directly over them. I know it isn't much, but if I could have my blade back, then it might help keep them in line, give me a little protection. I swear never to use it unless the need is dire!"

I waited for an answer but Amelia just began to laugh, "AH! Xyra… Well, actually, you are thinking just like me. I trust this crew not in the least, and yes, I will grant your sword…er…what is it?"

I waited until she brought my weapon out, "I call it _Mornie Rávo_, or Lion from Darkness. My mother used it, her mother used it, and so forth. Since then it has had many names. My _marne_ taught me the very uttermost power of it, since then I have mastered it."

Amelia gave me a prying look, "What language do you speak besides the common tongue?"

"I speak fluent Latin," she gave me a shrug, clearly saying 'I've never heard of that.'

I grinned and swept off my hat, "Good night Cap'n…oh yes! I wanted to know if I could make a little, er…noise, music!"

She smiled, "I don't mind, as long as it ends at twenty-two hundred hours, that is my bed-time you could say."

I laughed and saluted again before clipping the Lion from Darkness to my belt; my shift was over and I had four hours to do whatever I wished!

I dashed down to the galley and found a couple purps and a boiled potato for dinner; as I was leaving, some of the crew was coming in to eat, some looked at my blade and thought it wise to salute. I grinned, my first impressions about theirmutineering spirithad been right.

* * *

Once in my quarters, I took off the Lion and reached in my bag for my diary and quickly wrote:Dear Diary 9-17-2837 

_2nd day of working on Legacy, suspect mutiny. New cabin boy landlubber, as well as doctor. Captain also suspects. Got permission for playing G and V as well as F and anything else. Found solar surfer 1st day. Kicked Scroop's arse, was fun! Miss home._

_Xrya Robethian_

I put it back and reached in the second pocket, which actually doesn't contain anything, but is like a portal to a vault I have back on the planet Preyte, I keep everything in there, so I pulled out my pretty little violin case and oil rag to cushion my neck. Very quickly I tuned the strings and played a scale, then I turned serious.

In a rush of excitement, I played Vivaldi's third movement of _The Seasons_, frankly, there is no better piece of music! When that was done, I wiped down the strings and put it back before pulling out my guitar. It was acoustic, which was just as well because an electric would make too much noise, and all the crew already hated me.

I slipped the strap over my head and shoulder before pulling out a pick and began to play.

_There's a place off Ocean Avenue_

_Where I used to sit and talk with you_

_We were both 16 and it felt so right_

_Sleeping all day, staying up all night_

_Staying up all night_

_There's a place on the corner of Cherry Street_

_We would walk on the beach in our bare feet_

_We were both 18 and it felt so right_

_Sleeping all day, staying up all night_

_Staying up all night_

_If I could find you now things would get better_

_We could leave this town and run forever_

_Let your waves crash down on me and take me away_

_There's a piece of you that's here with me_

_It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see_

_When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by_

_I can make believe that you're here tonight_

_That you're here tonight_

_If I could find you now things would get better_

_We could leave this town and run forever_

_I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together_

_Let your waves crash down on me and take me away_

_I remember the look in your eyes_

_When I told you that this was goodbye_

_You were begging me not tonight_

_Not here, not now_

_We're looking up at the same night sky_

_And keep pretending the sun will not rise_

_Be together for one more night_

_Somewhere, somehow_

_If I could find you now things would get better_

_We could leave this town and run forever_

_I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together_

_Let your waves crash down on me and take me away_

I took a short breather and then began to play again, a song that I had heard long ago. 

_No sleep_

_No sleep until I am done with finding the answer_

_Wont stop_

_Wont stop before I find a cure for this cancer_

_Sometimes_

_I feel I'm going down and so disconnected_

_Somehow_

_I know that I am haunted to be wanted_

_I been watching_

_I been waiting_

_In the shadows all this time_

_I been searching_

_I been living_

_For tomorrows all my life_

_In the shadows_

_In the shadows_

_They say_

_That I must learn to kill before I can feel safe_

_But I_

_I'd rather kill myself then turn into their slave_

_Sometimes_

_I feel that I should go and play with the thunder_

_Somehow_

_I just don't wanna stay and wait for a wonder_

_I been watching_

_I been waiting_

_In the shadows all my time_

_I been searching_

_I been living_

_For tomorrows all my life_

_Lately I been walking, walking in circles, watching, waiting for something_

_Feel me touch me feel me, come take me higher_

_I been watching_

_I been waiting_

_In the shadows all my time_

_I been searching_

_I been living_

_For tomorrows all my life_

_I been watching_

_I been waiting_

_I been searching_

_I been living for tomorrows_

_In the shadows_

_In the shadows_

_I've been waiting_

Finally, I stretched out my neck and put the guitar back in its case and then into the safety vault. Then I pulled out one of my most favorite books in the entire universe, _Treasure Island _by Robert Louis Silverstein.

I got to about the fifteenth chapter before I was interrupted by a knock on my door.

"Come in!" It was the landlubber cabin boy. I checked my page and shut the book with a snap. "Hawkins! What a lovely surprise, how may I help you?"

* * *

Please review…M'kay? Otherwise I'll sic' Timmy on ya!

Timmy: TIMMY!

Me: yes…TIMMY! And then Cartman…and his phonics monkey

Erick: What the Fudgy wankles does that mean?

Stan: Shut up fat ass

Kenny: MFFTH mff-GACK!

Stan: Oh my God! They killed Kenny!

Kyle: You bastards!

Me: Yes…review…or Kenny gets it!

And also, those songs belong to Yellowcard (ocean avenue) and The Rasmus (In the Shadows)


	3. Who is Xyra Robethian?

TITLE: Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)

AUTHOR: ArcherofDarkness

SUMMARY:

RATING: PG-13

WHY: language, violence, and cuz I want it to be!

DISCLAIMERS: I own all of the vocabulary words and Xyra

Remember _Short passages in between breaks in italics are dreams; 'italics in apostrophes are thoughts'_

Tons of cookies and milk to my reviewers! TPGurl, Aurora-Yoru, and Callie!

* * *

_(Now remember, Jim had just entered Xyra's cabin...)_

Jim looked a little surprised…I think it's a landlubber thing; after you learn to be on a ship, everything becomes a routine so that when worst comes to worst, you haven't wasted all your energy on pointless things. His eyes searched my cozy little cabin and I stared blankly back at him.

"Yes?"

He shuffled and looked at his feet, "Uh…I just wanted to…you know. Thanks for keepin' me outta harms way and stuff."

I shook my head. "Boy, I feel sorry for you! So guess what? I'm gonna be nice and give you a tip about living on a ship…hey, rhymes! BE TOUGH. It doesn't matter if you're puny or weak or anything, just act tough. BUT! There is a catch, if you are clearly threatened, don't make a smartass remark to someone clearly stronger and clearly not afraid to use his power to hurt you!"

Jim nodded slightly, he'd heard what I'd said, but as to if it got all the way to his brain…nope. I swear, kids these days! Never listening to their elders or anything! He just looked at me.

"You look really familiar, do I-"

I interrupted him with a yell, "NO, AND DON'T ASK FOR ANY MORE FAVORS BECAUSE YOU ARENT GETTING ANY!"

He dashed out the door with his tail between his legs; I snickered and opened my book and returned to reading.

* * *

_There were five dragons. One red, another blue, the third yellow, the fourth opalescent, and the last was as black as the night of the Etherium. They each put one of their great paws together and from them rose a purple flame, engulfing all that existed._

* * *

I woke in a sweat to the gentle tapping of space dust hitting the hull; I rubbed my eyes and glanced at my watch, which told me the day, hour, and temperature. I sighed, there was still about three hours until my shift started. 

I climbed from my bunk and switched on an artificial light before pulling out the bruised solar surfer and all my supplies. There was a stray pair of scissors in my bag, so I carefully measured out the right lengths for the torn part of my sail and cut out the shapes. I threaded a piece of copper thread (it would connect the electrical flows from different sails), tied a knot in the end, and began to sew.

Before I knew it, an hour had passed and I had successfully gotten all of the sails patched; it looked a little tacky, but with a nice coat of black electrical paint! …Oh wait; I don't have any of that, do I? I sighed and heard a pair of boots thumping on the deck above me. Quickly I stored all of my stuff away and got dressed in my uniform, put on my funny hat, and darted upstairs to go see who was already awake.

By now, I should've known that the captain would be up at this time, she was just walking around, checking for any stray ends that might have come loose, looking for any blackened places on the bases of the masts, which could be a dead circuit. I snuck up to her and put my hands over her eyes.

"Guess who?"

She swiftly jarred me in the appendix and threw me over her head, there was a sword at my throat before she saw who I was and sheathed it to help me up.

"Well somebody's a little paranoid today," I muttered.

"Deeply sorry!" The captain cried, brushing off my shoulders politely. "I had a rather odd dream you see…care to join me for a morning coffee? Or tea, do you like tea?"

I stared back puzzled, "Sure, coffee's fine."

She smiled and I followed her to her cabin.

* * *

"Sugar or cream?"

"Both please." I took the pitcher of cream and poured a little in my cup, followed by a heaping spoon of sugar, which was stirred up into a delicious cup of coffee. I sighed as I breathed in the steamy aroma.

Captain Amelia sighed too, but not with bliss. It was a rather defeated sigh with a hint of misery mixed in. "I'm afraid I didn't invite you here just for tea Ms. Robethian."

I grinned, "I kind of suspected it, go on."

She gave me a weak smile, "Well you see, Arrow, he's a great chap, but he can't hold his alchohol at all. He never drinks, and the crew's rum is proportioned so that just enough can be given out a day. They would never give up a drop of it!"

"Yes. Men and drinks are hard to separate!"

Amelia looked away, "He was drunk last night, not a drop of alcohol and he's drunk!" She flew into a rage of passionate words, "The crew must be behind this! I never should have taken this mission, but to go to find the loot of a-"

I shook my head and took a sip of my coffee, but my mind was brimming with thoughts. '_The loot of a Thousand Worlds, that's what you meant Captain.'_ I tried to look tired. "I didn't get a good sleep last night Ma'am, might I be excused?"

She nodded bluntly.

I smiled and touched my hat, taking the coffee with me to the silent morning deck.

The door banged as I let it fall out of my hands, then I smiled and looked up at the stars. "Finally."

* * *

I sipped my coffee until the sounds of the crew walking about on the deck were loud and prominent, then I took a little walk to the galley to visit my friend Mr. Silver. I walked in, made sure no one but the cook was in the room, then closed and locked the door. 

"Good morning Mr. Silver."

"Morning miss," he touched the ragged red bandana on his head and began stirring what looked like a giant pot of oatmeal. I kept a close eye on him and began tapping my fingers.

"You're good Long John, too good, but I'm on to you. So it would be in your best interest to listen to what I have to say."

He eyed me with suspicion, "So say it then."

I lowered my voice so that only the cook could hear me, even if someone had been eavesdropping from above or at the door. "If youvalue your life,don't anyone of your crew do anything like whatScroop did to Mr. Arrow again or I will kill you, do you understand." There was no question in my voice; he would obey.

I watched his eyes narrow in anger, but there was no way he would spring the mutiny so early on, my hand slipped to the large blade at my hip. "Lassie, yer clever, but I would guess yer after the same thing, so it'd be best fer us both to pretend this never happened."

"Don't mess with them," I hissed, "they're mine to deal with, and they owe me something that I justly deserve. Screw up my plans and you will pay." I took a step back and raised my voice again, "By the way, since that young Jim Hawkins is your charge, I'd suggest getting him a little discipline."

I glared at him, a death glare that I could see made his eye flicker with fear for a second before he remembered that I was _just_ a young woman, oh how wrong he was.

* * *

I leaned against a post and sighed, hoarse from yelling at the blundering crew, that was when Jim and Silver came up from the hull. I laughed at the sweaty landlubber, his whole shirt was soaked through after but one hour. Silver and I exchanged glances, mine was a warning and his seemed to be blank, but I sensed something more. 

The captain was always on alert, so I never tried the whole sneaking-up-behind-her-thing again. Walking around, I saw lots of slackers and had to use my already sore throat to get them back to work. Silver was explaining a pretzel knot to Jim, so at the one time that he glanced up, our gazes met in a glaring contest, that was only interrupted by the captain.

The sailors were working and therefore didn't salute, but I tipped my hat to her. "Ca va mes Capitan?"

She shot me an odd glance and I hurridly corrected myself, "How are you today Captain? Please excuse my French."

She was about to speak when Arrow's loud voice boomed over the deck, "NO SLACKING MEN!"

"Would you care to join me for tea Ms Robethian?"

* * *

I sat in a small, padded chair, with my tea lying on the saucer in front of me, "So Captain, I've hard a lot about you from my teachers and such at school, but what was your greatest mission?" 

Amelia smiled, "Probably the mission against the Granex Navy on the Planet Tonthar IX."

"And what about that cook? I swear, that Hawkins boy might come out of this mission with enough experience to go to Academy! Not to mention straighten out if Silver keeps working him the way he has today."

Amelia got out two cups and put a bag of tea in each, "I remember when I was that naive, Academy really teaches you to only trust yourself. I severed with a Captain like that, it was the absolute worst mission I've ever been on. Actually, I come from a line descended from the Commodore Lancer, so my siblings and I were expected to become captains in the least. Was anything like that expected of you?"

I fingered a band on my index finger, "No, I was rebel. I wanted to get away to I ran to the stars, you might say I was lucky to get here."

"How would you be lucky?" My mind raced for a second and then recovered the carefully planned lie, "I come from a primitive planet, from Urdal, you've not doubt heard of it. A capsule landed on my planet and I got a ride to Tinerii Space port."

Amelia stared, "You're about seventeen I'd guess, and yet you're about to be promoted to Lieutenant and come from a primitive planet…?"

I laughed, "They say I'm bright! Plus I was obsessed with ships, on Urdal, an older method of transportation was sailing."

She smiled but I could tell Amelia was studying my face, but I quickly finsished the tea and politely excused myself as my stomach began to rumble.

I headed to the galley to find something to eat, hopefully it would be hot and gooey. But there, on the floor sat Silver and Hawkins, both were peeling potatoes, but Jim was staring at the ceiling and had only gotten through three. I shot a look at Silver and he quickly had Jim back at work.

Potatoes, cooking, man, those brought memories. I dreamed of a juicy, yellow, mango. Now, purp, purp, purp, purp. Blah, too many of the things. I grabbed a dreaded purp and headed back to the deck.

When Arrow saw me, he explained what was going on and was left to begin shouting orders to furl the sails since were passing on the dark side of a planet. Having the sails out would actually slow us down, we would be running on reserve power only, the crew would sleep and then when we got back into the light, the sails would be let out again and we would continue.

* * *

At the end of my shift, I retired to my quarters to do some research. I pulled out my com-pad, a laptop like device only much more advanced, and pulled up my last report. 

_"And the last thing to remember about visiting Montressor and Montressor Spaceport is to beware of pirates, although they are less common here than Octril III and Locus, they are everywhere."_

I saved the document and then posted it onto my Galac-page, something similar to Earth's web page, but available throughout the Galaxy. It was entitled "The Wonder Montressor", posted onto ges.jessequest.rex. It was a famous site and had been for some time, I posted a report every time I visited a new planet or port, which was why I had been waiting to post the one about Montressor, I had never visited the Port for more than one day and wanted to make the report as detailed as possible.

Seeing that that was done, I shut down the Galaxy Extensive System and pulled up my navigation program. We were headed in the direction of the Horse-Head nebula and I quickly added in our current coordinates. The computer chartered out our course and mapped out the predicted amount of time left, about twelve more Galactic days, or week days for Earthlings.

With a sigh I slouched back and put the com-pad away; I had waited long enough, I could wait another week.

Alright, I would like for a couple reviews, and the next two chapters after this should be posted pretty quickly, because they're done! That's right, while I was failing at transferring these from com to com to com, juggling three honors classes, and trying to fix the internet, I managed to type up TWO more chapters, aren't you happy! I am.

And if you've got enough time on this Labor Day Weekend, I would appreciate maybe a review about what you, the reviewer, thinks about Xyra, pros, cons, whatever. Just trying to improve Character development. And thanks as always for reading!


	4. Plotting the Course

TITLE: Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)

AUTHOR: ArcherofDarkness

SUMMARY:

RATING: PG-13

WHY: language, violence, and cuz I want it to be!

DISCLAIMERS: I own all of the vocabulary words and Xyra

PLUS! Special thanks to my reviewers! _Jackie99_ and _Go Jandalz_! tee! it makes me happy!

* * *

The next day I got up later, and we still hadn't passed out of the shadow of the blasted planet. I had brunch with the Captain after my first watch, eggs and toasted bread and a glass of purp juice. She was in a much better mood than the day before and invited me back for tea later on in the day.

The sails were let out at eleven hundred hours, eleven o'clock, and that's when I had the most fun that I'd had in a long time. We were flying smooth since Jim hadscraped the barnacles off of the hull yesterday; today he was swabbing the deck.

During one of my breaks, I climbed up the mizzen and watched as we passed the DeLancy system; it was beautiful. The star, Knight, is a beautiful red giant, and the Planets Jovax seven, eight, and nine are beautiful gas giants, each a different hue of blue. Jovax seven is deep lavender and is mined for Ilk gas and frozen Nedrati crystals. Jovax Eight has beautiful aqua coloration and is home to the rare Locus, a culinary delicacy throughout the galaxy. Jovax nine is the most beautiful, for it is the true shade of blue, and was once the subject for the famous artist, Miguello DaFarnic; not to mention its moon Sphlyn is made of Nox Crystal, which is very common but also very beautiful.

I brought my sketch pad up with me and drew the layout of the deck with all of the parts labeled in Pardillon, the ancient language of planet Pardil. My eyes took in all of the crew, and I focused my attention on Silver, who was supervising Jim. Flipping a page, I began to sketch the old cook.

Being a cyborg, he was bound to have tons of machinery tricks up his sleeve; the most common surprises were some type of photon cannon, a saber, and I had already seen the arsenal of cooking supplies, which included a flame thrower. I was woken from my deep thoughts by the beeping of my chronometer, my second watch was about to begin and I had a crew to keep in order.

With my blade beneath my belt, none of the crew dared to shoot me a dirty look, not even Silver, who seemed to be readily changing Jim's attitude so that he was more can-do than sarcastic. I cracked my knuckles and neck and began to shout orders as I saw the crew begin to slack off.

* * *

_later..._

"Mmmm, this is delicious tea Captain."

"Why yes, it is. I got it on the planet Malkiar, very primal but they do have a way with food." Amelia breathed in the aroma of the tea and then drank it up. The small biscuits(cookies) were delicious, flaky and sweet. It was getting late, and my third watch was soon to start. I was about to leave to prepare when Amelia stopped me. "Ms. Robethian, do you know what this voyage truly is about?"

With a shrug, I lied, "No Ma'am."

Amelia dropped her voice, "I tell you this only because I trust you. We are on a mission to recover Captain Flint's Loot of a Thousand Worlds. I just wanted to let you know what you were getting into without going into shock when we arrive. It seems somehow the crew knows about it also, I blame that blunder of a doctor. I will need your help in a dire situation and want to have you by my side until the bitter end." She held out a gloved hand, "Comrades?"

I shook, "Comrades, and now I must be going, my watch starts soon. Thank you for the tea ma'am.

* * *

That night, we passed out of the reach of Knight and traveled through the dust streams of the Jovinal Planes. It was beautiful, with the bright stars in the distance, the steady solar wind that brought the soft smell of the Rodentian Mines, a distinct salty scent.

The doctor finally came out of his cabin and attempted to get the captain to dance, but with no luck. Jim was climbing on the Jib boom and nearly fell off once or twice. Silver seemed to always be looking at me, studying me for a weakness and not giving me hardly a moment's rest.

My only sanctuary was my room, where no one dared disturb me without knocking, I worked hard on the new Solar Surfer; I modified the engine and electric input, I would test it out another day, but for now it was time to sleep, because tomorrow was another day.

* * *

_"And now it's time to DDR!" The music started, a fast paced tune that I recognized as _Butterfly_, I couldn't see the screen, the music played and I guessed blindly at where to jump, the sounds of booing came from the game. I was going to fail.

* * *

_

I awoke with a jolt, breathing heavily with an odd smell on my tongue. It was dismissed as the essence of rotting purp, which must have somehow gotten in the bilges and started decomposing. But there was something else…irony and sweet, blood. I must have bitten my lip during that dream of…I forgot it quite quickly, as I do with most dreams.

Today I had slept in a bit, which meant there wouldn't be time for drawing or working on my Solar Surfer, but at least there was time to eat. I couldn't have purps, my appetite for them was ruined for the remainder of the voyage; I settled for a light breakfast of sweetened hardtack (great for exercising your jaws) and pocky eggs.

My coffee was gulped down minutes before my watch started; I had to help with the reparations of the engine, which had been damaged during the night by a stray space rock; it's a normal occurrence that takes a short time to fix. So by ten, we were traveling at full power again.

Again that day, Silver had Jim scrubbing the deck…well, exfoliating it to be more precise. When you scrub the surface with Pumice, the wood gets so soft and smooth that it's like walking on silk, but it's devilish hard on your hands, leaves them raw and red for a few days.

The captain was ever more paranoid about the crew, though she trusted me the most right after Arrow, who really is a good chap once you get to know him. When my first watch ended, Doctor Dopplar invited me for tea. I politely declined, but he insisted that I join him. I finally gave in.

"So…Doctor, I assume you like science?"

"Well yes my dear," the Doctor smiled while eyeing me warily, "Or are you just being sarcastic?"

"A little of both," I leaned back in my chair and sucked up most of my small serving of tea. Madulia Honey-flower. It's a delicious flavor, tastes like pure honeysuckle but no caffeine and therefore not a good pick-me-up. "Are you enjoying the trip so far?"

"Yes actually, but I don't know you as well as the other crew, because you see I hired the rest of the crew and the Captain hired you. So I want to know, what's in it for you?"

I scratched my chin, this man…dog guy might be able to keep a secret, but he was horrible at giving hints at when he was hiding, it wouldn't have taken much effort or time to figure out what the exploration was for. "Oh I dunno, thirteen Kricts, get to see a part of the galaxy, be promoted and get to go to school again?"

"Perhaps," the doctor lapped at his own tea, "But how has it come that you are already being promoted to lieutenant at the mere age of…?"

I held back a growl, "It is none of your business how old I am, and perhaps if you don't think I'm doing a good enough job, you can consult with the Captain." I finished my tea and stormed off.

* * *

So…whatcha think? even a "ok" or "I didnt like it", but if it moved too fast, I'll try to slow down the next chappie...THANKS! 


	5. BEWARE!

Specaial thanks to all my reviewers! i love you all and for all I give a free Danny Phantom T-Shirt! Enjoy!

* * *

When I got back to duty, I was still sweating. That doctor…he was smarter than he truly looked; of course, it was also possible that he was just plainlucky as well. I sighed and checked around the deck. It was coming to the later part of the day, but we were still in the bright light of the sun Gregnax.

Captain Amelia came up to me about an hour after that, we were beginning to come into range of the inhabited planet of Nipent, but there are strict rules about the closest distance a passing ship can get to it because it is very primitive and any outside interference could alter the evolutionary process.

"So Robethian…do you remember the closest distance we can pass at?"

I grinned and pulled up my memories of the Academy, "Eighty thousand hifimeters Captain."

"Very good," she leaned against the rail in a very casual manner, "So what do you want to be a Captain for…Naval or Trade?"

I kept my stance very rigid; she was testing me even in the nonverbal sense. One of the things taught at Academy was to always keep in a proper manner when addressing the Captain or anyone on the ship that is above or bellow your rank. "I'm not quite sure Ma'am, though I was thinking of becoming a bounty hunter."

She raised one thin eyebrow at that but said nothing opposing my comment, "And what ships have you served on before?"

"Many Captain, _U.S.L. Ylvski_, _M.R.S. Handeklin_, and the _I.O.S. Mitchilin_ to name a few. I've had the honor of serving under Captain Johansen of the _H.N. Entrance_ as well."

"That man? I went to Academy with him, he was never quite sane." I stifled a laugh and kept my face straight, but I could feel my eyelids turning up in amusement. "So who were your parents? You told me you were born on a primitive planet…"

"My parents deserted me as a child." That answer I kept clearly out of the humor category, it was no laughing matter.

Her eyes softened, "For that I offer my condolences, please carry on Ms. Robethian." Amelia left with a swish of her tailcoat and I was left with the hairs standing up on my neck. No one has ever known my true past, and I plan on no one knowing it until I die.

My duty was relieved by Arrow, and he quizzed me a little before I went below deck. All the questioning was in good heart, all the graduating midshipmen are told of a horrifically hard test they have to pass before getting into Lieutenant Academy.I almost headed straight to bed, but I was craving something salty and crunchy so I headed to the galley, where Silver was deep amidst telling the tale of Objaw. Everyone has heard that story before, but he truly knew it well and was using his bionic arm to tell the part of the giant space serpent.

With a bag of salt under my arm, I started heading back to my lodging and tripped over the landlubber, Hawkins. He apologized using the word "Ma'am" and helped me up before beginning to clean up his steaming cup of purp juice. I had to feel bad at that; it _was_ my fault after all…oh well.

I headed to my quarters and opened the bag of salt and put a little on my tongue, enjoying the acidic taste of the granular seasoning. I shivered in delight and put a little more on; I reached into my bag and pulled out a _Treasure Island_, it was entitled in a language that none aboard this ship would be able to read.

"_The appearance of the island when I came on deck the next morning was altogether changed. Although the breeze had now utterly failed, we had made a great deal of way during the night, and were now lying becalmed about half a mile to the south-east of the low eastern coast. Grey-coloured woods covered a large part of the surface. This even tint was indeed broken up by the streaks of yellow sandbreak in the lower lands, and by many tall trees of the pine family, out-topping the others- some singly, some in clumps; but the general colouring was uniform and sad._

_"The hills ran up clear above the vegetation in spires of naked rock. All were strangely shaped, and the Spyglass, which was by three or four hundred feet the tallest on the island, was likewise the strangest in configuration, running up sheer from almost every side, and then suddenly cut off at the top like a pedestal to put a statue on_."

My mind was churning as I recalled my own Treasure Island, an ancient plant that could almost be compared to Degobah. Both marshy and containing one extremely old, psychotic creature that could help out in a strange, unorthodox way. Yoda was one of them…the other simply made me cringe.

I started reading the next passage, but my eyes were tired and I fell asleep with my hand still holding the book to my nose and my light still flickering from the top of my cabin.

* * *

I woke later with the lamp light nearly burnt out, and yawned at the shadows on my walls, checking my watch, I realized that we should be passing through the shadow of a planet and noticed that there was no light creeping through the cracks in the boards above my head. I still had about twenty minutes until I could sneak in the galley and bully Silver out of an early meal.

My thoughts began to wander to my past life, and a familiar face came to mind, one of a young man with brown eyes and spiked, black hair, and yet that was pushed aside and another image popped up. Long ellagant ears like a great cat's, sharp, sparkling green eyes with slitted pupils, and above all else, a want to be free.

Ah...Irwin and Rudiff, two to whom I had given my heart and then had it broken off. One disappeared to an unreachable destination, the other killed before my eyes. I blinked, shoving the faces from my consciousness and returned my thoughts to the _Legacy_, it was the most important thing in the immediate future. Slowly, I pulled my tights, stockings, and pants on, followed by my shirt, jacket, belt, and boots; I completed the look with my funny hat.

Then,I followed this with the things I usually wore when suspecting a mutiny, my wrist bands, staff(which was basically a double-headed javelin with the points capped), and my long sword-like blade. Just as I emerged onto the main deck, I realized that something was wrong. Looking ahead, I could see something that only glimpsed once before.

"Shit!"

* * *

Ok ppl, you can figure out what it is...right? Big and explody and stuff? 


	6. ja ne

I'm sorry to announce this, but, well…with all I have going on right now, it is becoming increasingly harder to update. The truth is, I think I've finally gotten away from the "obsessive over the internet" phase…which is sort of a "YAY" and "WAH!" for me. So any updates will probably be on the weekends, and once these stories are finished, chances are that there will not be sequels. Perhaps there will be brief short stories, but other than that…uh, nah.

So anyways, I'd like to thank you, the reviewers, for all your reviews and am extremely grateful for all who write here. I'm not gone forever, simply immersed in a growing pile of work and physical activities.

Callie will still update though, whenever she can, she will. (wow, that made no sense!) Thanks again!

ArcherofDarkness.


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